|
Just a brief update this week (I’m sure some would consider that merciful) because I have to get on the road. Congress finally passed the omnibus bill that included appropriations for the FAA budget and also contained a 3.5% raise. Given that the president signs this, it will be the first time in three years that the first time in three years that all this happens prior to the new year. So enjoy the pay raise, I believe it is the highest we are going to get for some time.
Legislation has also been passed to phase out the open season process for TSP and eventually make this year round. Good news for us for sure.
Have a safe week.
Grant Anderson ganderson@natca.org
TSP Washington Post (Federal Diary): Bill to Phase Out Open Seasons for Savings Plan Awaits Bush's Signature
By Stephen Barr Legislation that will make it easier for federal employees to manage their accounts in the Thrift Savings Plan was approved by the Senate yesterday and sent to President Bush for his signature. The measure will eliminate the TSP's twice-a-year "open seasons," the only time employees can change the amount they contribute from their salaries toward their retirement. "This is a great achievement for federal employees," Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-Maine), the legislation's chief sponsor, said in a statement after the vote. "Our legislation gives federal employees the same access and flexibility to their retirement savings plan that most workers have in the private sector." Collins, who chairs the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, added, "Our hope is that this change attracts more federal employees to save for their future using the TSP." Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, sponsored the bill on the House floor when it was approved there Nov. 19. During the floor debate, he said the legislation would help participants cope with "changing circumstances" in their personal lives. TSP, a 401(k)-type program, currently holds open seasons at two times: April 15 through June 30 and Oct. 15 through Dec. 31. Newly hired employees have 60 days to enroll in the TSP, and if they fail to do so must wait until the next open season. Employees who stop their TSP contributions must wait until the second open season, which can mean a delay of close to a year. Collins, Davis and Andrew M. Saul, chairman of the board that oversees the TSP, agreed that open seasons were no longer necessary after the thrift plan installed a new record-keeping system that permits daily transactions by participants. The previous system operated on a monthly basis and open seasons initially were set up as a way for the TSP to administer enrollments and investment decisions. After the president signs the bill, the TSP will issue new regulations on enrollment and contributions and phase out the open seasons. The new rules should be in place next year, when the TSP plans to introduce "lifecycle funds" that participants can select to rebalance their accounts to ensure diversification and appropriate risk. The legislation being sent to Bush does not include a House provision that had called for automatic contributions by agencies to begin as soon as an employee is deemed eligible to join the TSP. Currently, for some employees, it takes from seven months to nearly a year before matching funds begin. Congressional aides said the agency provision was dropped because of cost considerations. But Davis, in a statement yesterday, said he would introduce legislation to address what he called "this internal inequity." The legislation also includes a provision, sponsored by Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), that promotes efforts to improve the investment and retirement planning skills of TSP participants. The bill directs the thrift board to "periodically evaluate whether the tools available to participants provide the information needed to understand, evaluate and compare financial products, services and opportunities offered" by the TSP. In addition, it requires the thrift board and Office of Personnel Management to develop a "financial literacy strategy and education strategy" to help prepare federal employees for retirement. The TSP is open to civil service, postal, military and other uniformed personnel and has been growing by more than $1 billion a month in new contributions. At last count, the TSP had about 3.4 million participants and $143 billion in assets. Legislative News
BNA: Omnibus Spending Bill Moves to Bush's Desk As House Kills Unpopular Tax Return Section
The massive FY 2005 omnibus spending measure was to be transmitted to the White House for President Bush's signature shortly after the House acted Dec. 6 to kill a controversial provision that had threatened to derail the entire nine-bill package. Returning to Washington for a second lame-duck session, the House voted 381 to 0 to strip from the $388 billion appropriations bill a provision seen as a threat to taxpayers' privacy rights, a move that now permits the Senate to forward the entire spending bill package (H.R. 4818) to the president. Bush's signature, which the White House has said is assured, will officially bring the FY 2005 appropriations process to a close more than two months after the start of the new fiscal year. Lawmakers voted to approve a resolution (H. Con. Res. 528) to drop the controversial provision contained in the omnibus, which was already approved by the House and the Senate prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. The omnibus has been held back at the Senate desk since then pending deletion of the provision, which would have given Congress unprecedented access to taxpayers' income tax returns. Although the provision is now gone, the controversy it generated caused lawmakers to question the entire process that Republican leaders elected to use to finish this year's appropriations process. Democrats said GOP leaders brought embarrassment on themselves by attempting to force through the House a 3,000-page bill to fund most of the federal government's departments and agencies only hours after it was filed. They urged the GOP to resist the temptation to resort to so-called Martial Law in the House, saying it should follow the official rules that require members to have three days to review major legislation before a vote is scheduled. While she supported the GOP's plan to delete the tax return language, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the episode that mired the omnibus in controversy was "deeply troubling" and showed the dangers of forcing "same day votes." "The excessive use of the Martial Law rule subverts the will of Congress," Pelosi said. Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) said he doubted the provision reflected any real conspiracy by appropriations staff to invade the privacy of taxpayers. Rather, he said, the handling of the omnibus in a November lame duck session reflected a conspiracy on GOP leaders' part to shut down congressional consideration of the essential appropriations bills until after this year's election in order to shield lawmakers from criticism for the cuts the final package included to key domestic programs. "That's what happens when you don't respect the processes of the House," Obey said, echoing other lawmakers who have criticized the appropriations process as being broken. But House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. "Bill" Young (R-Fla.) defended the process that produced the omnibus, saying the House had written and passed almost all of their regular 13 spending bills many weeks ago and had been in a position to finalize most of them if the Senate had also been as far along in its work. The bulk of those bills, he said, passed with more than 300 votes. Young also defended the tax return language, saying it had been aimed at giving appropriators more oversight over the Internal Revenue Service, which sought a $500 million increase. But Young said he still wanted to drop it to get the bills finished. "Let's clear the deck," he said, "so the new Congress and the new administration can start with a new slate." |
